Katie's bright, yet deeply blue, eyes: they first took Max's fancy, strongly, in that early-00's HS pool hallway. Katie first noticed Max at the first day of his freshman year swim season, and also noticed his eyes. For two years, if Max saw Katie in the hallway he would smile and offer to carry her books, too shy to say much more than "Hi, Katie Hill". Towards the end of her junior year, Max finally got Katie's phone number - from (bridesmaid) Cristina Faiver. Days went by. No call. The school year ended. On the last day of school Katie bemoaned to Cristina that Max had never called and a whole summer would go by without seeing him.

A few days later, Max came into Buddy's Pub and Grill, where Katie was working as a hostess, and finally asked her on a date. A summer of love followed, full of long drives down the backroads, swimming at Rose Lake, ice cream dates, movies, playing with Max's dog, Gus, naps in the sunshine, river bluff picnics, and exploring outside.

Bright stars in one another's skies: life moved on from high school and Katie and Max went forward into college and young adulthood. They kept in touch, always curious about each other. They each, in their way, guarded the draw that each felt, shy to even acknowledge to one another the call of their special starshine. In college Katie lived with (bridesmaid) Sahar, who had worked alongside Max at the Michigan Athletic Club and teased Katie when Max picked her up in college to catch up over drinks. As Katie moved to South Korea, and Max moved to Colorado, messages flew about travel, relationships, good hikes, bad adventures, how not to lose an appendix, heartbreak, and adulthood.

In a serendipitous parallel, Katie accepted a graduate school offer in Colorado in the summer of 2012, bringing them together again in the same state. Max eagerly began sharing the best of things to explore in Colorado, taking Katie rock climbing and, along with Zappa, teaching Sacha how to scramble and hike like a normal dog. He failed to mention to Katie that these were dates, and more years would go by before they came fully back into each other's lives. Too guarding of the fondness in their hearts to chase the dream together.

In the spring of 2022, Max and Katie were catching up over text on the pandemic, breakups, careers, and relocations. Max had just moved from Estes Park to Grand Junction, and Katie was still getting settled in Albuquerque. They had both found themselves working at the Department of the Interior, an unexpected career parallel. One afternoon, Max surprised Katie by giving her a call. "I don't know if you're open to this, but I know you, I know what you want in life, and I think I can give it to you. I think you can do the same for me. If you're willing, I'd like to come to Albuquerque and take you out to dinner." Filling a bucket of roadside wildflowers for Katie, along Red Mountain Pass, much as he did along rural Michigan roadways in high school, Max came to meet and find his family, meant to be.